Kenya Inflation December 2015

Kenya: Inflation jumps at the end of 2015 on higher food prices

December 31, 2015

In December, consumer prices rose 1.07% over the previous month, coming in above the 0.52% increase observed in November. December’s result was mainly fueled by higher prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages.

Inflation climbed from November’s 7.3% to 8.0% in December, which marked a fourth consecutive rise and the highest reading since August 2014. As a result, inflation closed the year above the Central Bank’s inflation target range of 2.5 percentage points around its 5.0% target. Annual average inflation in December inched up from November’s 6.4% to 6.6%.

Met the why particular Consensus Forecast panelists expect inflation to average 6.7% in 2016, which is up 0.3 percentage points from last month’s forecast. In 2017, the panel sees average inflation at 6.1%.

This rise in the latest composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reading, produced by IHS Markit and Stanbic Bank, reflects the return of Kenya’s private sector to expansionary territory in the final leg of 2017 after contracting for eight consecutive months as the political scene, marred by months of protracted uncertainties, begins to stabilize.